Interview with Mark Howard, Author Of Fox Nation Vs. Reality

Mark Howard, proprietor of NewsCorpse, has written the second volume of his Fox Nation vs. Reality series. Mark was kind enough to answer some questions for us about his thoughts after years of observing and writing about Fox News and Fox Nation.

Q: What motivated you to write this book? I understand it’s a sequel.

A: Yes, this is the second volume of Fox Nation vs. Reality, and it was motivated by there being just too many blatant falsehoods disseminated by Fox to fit in one volume. The original motivation for the series was to document the stream of lies on Fox’s website, which seemed to be operating under the radar. I wanted people to have an entertaining, informative resource they could refer to when asked to prove that Fox was a dishonest purveyor of propaganda and not a credible news source.

Q: On your site, you write that “Fox Nation has evolved into an even more sheltered environment that has taken on many characteristics of culthood.” Could you explain what you mean by that?

A: One of the first rules issued by cults is to believe only what you hear from the cult, and that everyone else is deceiving to you. That’s a mantra at Fox News that is even evident in their “Fair and Balanced” slogan that implies that no one else is. Cults also insist that their members share a worldview from which they cannot deviate. And their obedience is enforced through fear. These are also common elements of Fox’s programming.

Q: The blurb for your book says it, “provides an eye-opening look into the lengths that committed propagandists will go in order to fabricate an alternative political reality.” Could you provide some examples?

The first chapter in the new book is about an article that appeared on Fox Nation that accused the Obama campaign of receiving foreign funds. However, upon reading the full article there was not a single example of that ever happening, and their allegation stemmed from the discovery of a website that had nothing to do with Obama. Another chapter is about Fox’s assertion that the wacked-out Westboro Baptist Church is a left-wing cult. And one of my favorite Fox diversions from reality is their skewed polling analysis. I have a chapter where Fox describes Hillary Clinton’s poll numbers as “underwhelming” even though that same poll shows her beating every Republican she was matched against.

Q: What about Fox Nation do you find so compelling, as opposed to the Fox News Channel?

A: Fox Nation is like the Id of Fox News. While there appears to be little or no shame among the characters on Fox with regard to misrepresenting the truth, Fox Nation has utterly abandoned any pretense for honesty. And they operate in an environment of anonymity as there are no credits on the site for editors or publishers.

Q: When did you start your site and what motivated you to do so?

A: News Corpse launched in 2005. It was intended to be a watchdog (Newshound?) that exposed the conservative bias in the media, as well as a source for activists to get involved in media reform.

Q: What keeps you going now?

A: There is one thing you can say about Fox News and the right-wing media: They provide an unending stream of material for news watchers. I believe that it’s important to remain vigilant and point out the biases that infect the press and to work for a more independent, diverse and honest media.

Q: Do you have any thoughts about the future of Fox News?

A: There has been a lot of talk about Fox moderating their views. It happened when Glenn Beck was shown the door and when Megyn Kelly was promoted to prime time. But the truth is that they are every bit as deceptive and dishonest as ever. In many ways Kelly is worse than Beck.

Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes are devoted to their extremist, right-wing agenda and they will continue to pursue it to the detriment of the nation. The only thing that might change that is when they are no longer running the company. And then the change will not be due to a decision to stop being propagandists, but because their successors just won’t be as good at it.

Showing 4 reactions

I always felt like the OJ Simpson trial destroyed the way our news is presented by going from information to entertainment.

For example I use to watch and enjoyed CNN’s Headline News. Updates every half an hour with sports and weather and just reporting on the news with no opinions and no sensationalizing to boost the ratings while today they give us Nancy Grace and what seems like nothing but the show Forensic Files during the weekends.

I don’t think we’ll see an end to the programming or format of Fox News when Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes leave or die. As long as the ratings remain at the top of the cable news channels then it doesn’t matter who is in charge.

The only thing that will successfully change things will be a drop in the ratings and the loss of advertising revenue.